David Wheeler Comes Back to Haunt MK Dons With Late Winner for Wycombe Wanderers

MILTON KEYNES, ENGLAND - JANUARY 29: David Wheeler of Milton Keynes Dons in action during the Sky Bet League Two match between Milton Keynes Dons and Oldham Athletic at Stadium mk on January 29, 2019 in Milton Keynes, United Kingdom. (Photo by Pete Norton/Getty Images)

David Wheeler scored a 90th-minute winner for Wycombe Wanderers against former club MK Dons to give them a 3-2 success. Wheeler spent the second half of last season on loan at Stadium MK from Queens Park Rangers and scored the goal that got the Dons promoted from League Two. However, his first goal for Wycombe today saw the Dons sink to their first defeat of the season.

David Wheeler Comes Back to Haunt MK Dons

McGrandles Misses Again

Conor McGrandles was guilty of an awful penalty miss in midweek against AFC Wimbledon. That time, at least, he was able to make up for it with an equaliser ten minutes later. He wasn’t able to that this time, though.

Wycombe led through a penalty of their own from Joe Jacobson before Jordan Bowery scored his first for MK Dons to level. Fred Onyedinma restored the lead, and that was when McGrandles’ moment came. The midfielder, whose penalty duties have confused many fans, blazed over once more just before the break which meant the Chairboys took a lead into half-time.

Houghton Restores Parity

After the horror show from the spot, it seemed to be a good decision to let someone else have a crack when the referee pointed to the spot again. This time, Jordan Houghton took responsibility and slammed home to restore parity.

Wheeler, a cult hero amongst Dons fans, was then introduced to rousing applause from both sets of fans. There was even a rendition of his old ‘Tequila’ song from the travelling faithful. Perhaps that was what spurred him on to score. After being played through late on, he coolly finished under Lee Nicholls to put Wycombe ahead for a third time, and it enough for them to see out the win.

Too Early to Panic

While Wycombe can soak up the joy of being third in the table, MK Dons have to contend with the feeling of tasting their first defeat.

While losing a local game is frustrating, especially in the manner in which it happened, the Dons are realistically going to be a mid-table side this season, so cannot be expecting to win every game. There are going to be frustrating games such as this one more often than there were last season.

Fans will need to be patient with the side and not forget that there are plenty of players yet to return to full fitness. Alex Gilbey and Baily Cargill, two of the standout players from last season, are still recovering from injuries. As well, the trio of Ben Reeves, Rhys Healey and Joe Mason are still building fitness after a lack of match action so far this year.

Once all of those pieces come together, games like this should start to be few and far between.

Nat has been writing about MK Dons at LWOS since August 2015, when he was 16. He became an editor at the start of the 2017/18 season and a Managing Editor three months later. Outside of writing, he enjoys watching his local teams, MK Dons and Leighton Town, as much as possible.